GenAI Summit Silicon Valley 2024
App Inventor Foundation Student Ambassador Tony Huang leads the K12 AI Initiative at the GenAI Summit, a program designed specifically for K-12 students. The initiative features panel sessions on MIT App Inventor and student perspectives on AI, as well as a student poster presentation.
Learn more: https://genaisummit.ai/
CSTA New England 2024
David Petty from the App Inventor Foundation joins Selim Tezel and Robert Parks from MIT App Inventor in attending the 8th annual CSTA New England conference. This year’s theme is “Reimagining a Connected Future through pK16 CS Education.”
Learn more: https://greaterboston.csteachers.org/page/csta-new-england-2024
Google.org Impact Summit
Google.org’s first ever Impact Summit brings together the top voices in social impact to discuss some of the most exciting applications of technology today. Dr. Natalie Lao of the App Inventor Foundation gives a talk on “How Do We Empower Girls to Create Change with AI?” and participates in a panel on “Applying AI Responsibly in Education” alongside Amanda Timberg, Director of Education for Social Impact Programs, Google.org; Philip Colligan, CEO of Raspberry Pi Foundation; and Peter Gault, Executive Director of Quill.org.
Learn more: https://eventsonair.withgoogle.com/events/impact-summit-live
UNESCO Digital Learning Week 2024
Prerna Ravi, a PhD candidate at MIT CSAIL, and John Masla, an Assessment Specialist at MIT STEP Lab, present on “Democratizing data science and AI literacy through student-centered interdisciplinary curricula.”
Learn more: https://www.unesco.org/en/weeks/digital-learning
Taiwan International Digital Learning Forum 2024
Organized by the Taiwan Ministry of Education, the Taiwan International Digital Learning Forum aims to bring together policymakers and scholars from across the globe to discuss and share their insights on digital learning, educational big data, and AI literacy, highlighting practices and trends in these fields on an international scale. Dr. Natalie Lao of the App Inventor Foundation and Dr. Evan Patton of MIT App Inventor are attending as guest speakers at the Forum.
23rd Annual Interaction Design and Children Conference
David Kim from the MIT App Inventor team presents a paper titled “App Planner: Utilizing Generative AI in K-12 Mobile App Development Education.” IDC is a conference on inclusive child-centered design, learning, and interaction.
Read the paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2401.15182
Learn more about IDC: https://idc.acm.org/2024/
Blockly Summit 2024
Evan Patton and Mark Friedman of the App Inventor team attend the annual Blockly Summit at Google to connect with other developers and educators involved in the block-based coding space. Evan leads a workshop on Aptly, demonstrating how App Inventor is incorporating generative AI into block-based coding to allow users to generate apps using natural language prompts.
Learn more: https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/blockly-summit-2024/
Day of AI
Representatives from MIT, the Boston Mayor’s Office, NASA, and the Boston Museum of Science celebrate this year’s Day of AI – a free, hands-on curriculum of lessons and activities to introduce K-12 students to artificial intelligence. The event includes two highlights featuring students:
More than two dozen high school and middle school students from the New England Innovation Academy in Marlborough, Mass., create and present AI projects on-site.
The App Inventor Foundation announces the winners of the 2024 Global AI Hackathon – apps developed by hundreds of submitters on the themes of climate and sustainability or health and wellness.
To learn more about Day of AI, visit https://dayofai.org/.
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
Rupa Shah of the App Inventor Foundation serves as a judge for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, in which middle and high school students develop innovative STEM solutions to address critical issues in their local communities.
Learn more: https://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/
#HouseOfCode by Congressional App Challenge
Dr. Natalie Lao and Prerna Ravi lead a workshop on “Generative AI Apps for Responsible Community Engagement” at #HouseOfCode, a national event where winners of the Congressional App Challenge present their apps on Capitol Hill, Washington DC. The workshop is designed to educate students, teachers, and other educational stakeholders on the responsible development and deployment of generative AI technologies through hands-on experience using App Inventor. Through the workshop activities, participants will generate art and text using AI tools and consider their applications in empowering their communities. They will also discuss the importance of creating AI solutions that are ethical, transparent, and beneficial to society while fostering innovation and creativity. Adults will receive guidance on how these activities can be integrated within K-12 settings.
Learn more: https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/students/houseofcode/
Wagamama Awards 2023
The Wagamama Awards celebrates young people in Japan participating in the Wagamama initiative, which encourages them to address local issues using MIT App Inventor. Not only are their efforts helping people address real-world problems, but their work is also part of a larger computational action initiative with significant potential for global impact. The Wagamama Awards is organized by IRODORI Corporation and supported by the App Inventor Foundation, Hokota City, and Tsumagoi Village.
Learn more: https://wagamamalab.jp/
Technovation: AI & Data Science with App Inventor
MIT App Inventor hosts an in-person workshop on “AI & Data Science with App Inventor” in collaboration with the Boston chapter of Technovation. Topics include generative AI (ChatBot, ImageBot) and data science (spreadsheets, charts, climate change data analysis). Participants will also have a chance to ask questions and receive advice for their Technovation projects.
ELEVATE Conference
Dr. Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, presents at the Girl Geek X ELEVATE conference for mid- to senior-level women in tech. Her talk, titled “Empowering Communities through Mobile App Development,” showcases remarkable apps developed by women and girls around the world using AI and App Inventor to uplift their communities. Attendees learn about various ways to contribute to this empowering movement, including judging for global Appathons, translating resources to bring the platform and curricula to more communities across the world, and making technical contributions to the open-source project.
Learn more: https://girlgeek.io/conferences/elevate-march-2024/
AI and Data Science with App Inventor
In collaboration with MIT RAISE and Boston PIC, MIT App Inventor hosts students from Boston Public Schools, introducing them to the App Inventor platform and exploring various topics from generative AI to IoT to data science.
FOSDEM 2024
App Inventor lead developer Evan Patton joins App Inventor contributors Vishwas Adiga and Diego Barreiro Perez to share how individuals can start contributing to the free and open-source software platform. The team also presents a workshop in the new FOSDEM Junior track, introducing youth aged 7 to 17 to App Inventor through simple apps like HelloPurr and PaintPot.
Learn more: https://fosdem.org/2024/
Artificial Intelligence with App Inventor Workshop
Twenty teachers from the New England area join the MIT App Inventor team for an in-person workshop covering a wide range of AI tutorials. This training is geared towards preparing teachers for MIT’s global annual Day of AI event in May 2024. Topics include ChatBot with ChatGPT, ImageBot with DALL-E, Personal Image Classifier: PICaboo, Conversational AI with Alexa, and classroom strategies for teaching AI materials. The workshop does not assume previous AI experience and is ideal for those with at least intermediate-level App Inventor experience.
AI is for Everyone: Transforming K-12 Learning and Education in the Era of AI
MIT organizers Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Dr. Vijay Kumar, Prerna Ravi, and Safinah Ali lead a two-day workshop on AI education at the Center of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE) at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
Day 1: The team presents the MIT Day of AI curriculum to students, teachers, and policy makers from the Indian education system, as well as leading experts from global nonprofits. They engage in roundtable discussions on the future of AI education within the Indian context, including the opportunities and challenges presented in the Global South.
Day 2: Prerna and Safinah lead workshops to introduce AI, demystify generative AI tools, and teach participants how to build AI powered applications with MIT App Inventor. They hold discussions about using AI in the classroom, leveraging AI for creative applications, and the ethical implications of AI usage.
Day of AI India at Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023
MIT organizers Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Dr. Vijay Kumar, Prerna Ravi, and Safinah Ali launch Day of AI India at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023. This event includes discussions about the importance of AI literacy and the opportunities and concerns regarding its integration into school curricula in India.
The GPAI Summit involves key meetings like MEG Plenary, All Member Consultation, Working Group sessions, Ministerial Council, Executive Council, and Steering Committee. It also hosts various side events showcasing domestic AI progress and engaging in discussions. These side events involve awards, research symposiums, industry exhibitions, hackathons and more.
Learn more: https://gpaidelhi2023.indiaai.gov.in/
MIT Generative AI Week
The MIT App Inventor team presents at MIT Generative AI Week. Professor Hal Abelson, founder of the App Inventor project, participates in a panel titled “Moonshots: Big Ideas from MIT.” Evan Patton and David Kim, software developers for MIT App Inventor, demonstrate Aptly and new generative AI components in App Inventor.
Learn more: https://mitgenerativeaiweek.mit.edu/
UNESCO Empowering Minds: A Round Table on Generative AI and Education in Asia-Pacific
Dr. Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, joins this experts’ round table on the opportunities and risks of generative AI for Asia-Pacific education. This convening is organized by UNESCO Bangkok in partnership with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization.
App Inventor Seminar at IIT Kharagpur
Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, presents a seminar titled “Empowering Students as Community-Centered App Inventors towards an AI-Integrated Future” to 30 undergraduate students in the Foundations of Educational Technology course at IIT Kharagpur.
Wagamama Awards
Middle and high school students from Sukagawa City present the App Inventor apps they built over the past four months to address challenges faced by their community. This event is a celebration and culmination of the Sukagawa Wagamama Lab competition.
Creating a Generative AI Chatbot App using MIT App Inventor
Harness the power of generative AI and unleash your creativity in this hands-on workshop! Over the course of an hour, students will learn how to build and customize their very own generative AI chatbot app using App Inventor and ChatGPT (for Android and iOS devices). Also hear from current MIT students on what they think about generative AI's impact in school environments.
App Inventor is a free and user-friendly platform for mobile app creation for learners of all ages developed by researchers and educators at MIT and Google. The Congressional App Challenge is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Students can register and submit their original apps to this year's competition through November 1st, 2023.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-a-generative-ai-chatbot-app-using-mit-app-inventor-tickets-736678153187
PreHacks
App Inventor undergraduate researchers Gisella Kakoti and Isabela Sanchez Taipe judge this hackathon designed specifically for high school students. PreHacks aims to empower students with essential tech skills to overcome any fears they may have about hackathons in coding. The hackathon's primary mission is to increase diversity and inclusion in the tech community by providing a supportive environment for students to showcase their skills and talents.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prehacks-tickets-701111582617?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Constructionism / FabLearn 2023 Conference
Robert Parks, curriculum developer at App Inventor, presents “Empowering Learners with a Low-Barrier Mobile Data Science Toolkit” and demos App Inventor’s new components to collect sensor data, graph data, detect anomalies, and make predictions based on linear regression.
Learn more: https://www.constructionismconf.org/
Technovation World Summit 2023
Natalie Lao, Executive Director of App Inventor Foundation, attends the finalists pitch event and award ceremony, where girls from around the world share the apps they built to tackle problems like education, elder care, accessibility, and more.
Massachusetts Prison Education Consortium 2023-2024 Kickoff
Selim Tezel from MIT App Inventor and Jeff Freilich from MIT RAISE present their work teaching “An Introduction to Mobile Computing and Artificial Intelligence” to residents at the Maine State Prison.
Generative AI for iOS and Android Lecture Series
David Kim and Angie Zhou from the App Inventor team lead a workshop on using Generative AI with App Inventor.
Learn more: http://en.kait.jp/news/116.html
UNESCO Digital Learning Week 2023
Dr. Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, presents a draft of the UNESCO AI Competence Framework for teachers and students; Pedro Philippi Araújo, student winner of App of the Season, shares his team’s app XôDengue; and Daeun Yoo, UX Consultant at MIT App Inventor, presents “Digital Art Therapy with GenAI” at a breakout session.
Learn more: https://www.unesco.org/en/weeks/digital-learning
MIT CSAIL 60th Anniversary Symposium: AI Frontiers & Implications
Rupa Shah, Board Member of App Inventor Foundation, pitches the Foundation; David Kim, Software Developer at MIT App Inventor, presents on the AI in Action Panel; and the App Inventor team tables at Startup Alley.
Learn more: https://www.csail.mit.edu/event/csail-imagination-action-ai-frontiers-implications
Congressional App Challenge #HouseOfCode 2023
Dr. Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, speaks on the Generative AI Panel and represents the Foundation at a booth.
Learn more: https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/students/houseofcode/
International Technology, Education and Development Conference 2023
Angie Zhou of the MIT App Inventor team presents on “Learning and Using Image Classifiers by Creating Real Mobile Applications.”
Learn more: https://iated.org/inted/